The next morning, Ajay woke up to the sound of temple bells ringing faintly in the distance. His body ached from yesterday's drills, a deep soreness in his shoulders and calves that would have made the old Ajay stay in bed. But this was the new Ajay. Pain meant progress.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the wooden beams of the ceiling, thinking about everything that had gone wrong in his first life. The wasted years. The endless promises to "start fitness training tomorrow." The times he had skipped running drills because he felt batting was enough. The humiliation of being dropped from the Ranji team not because of a bad batting average—his runs had always been there—but because he moved like a man twice his age in the field.
This time, fitness wouldn't be an afterthought. It would be his foundation.
The First Run
Ajay tied his running shoes tightly, grabbed a bottle of water, and stepped into the cold morning air. The streets were still waking up—chai vendors setting up their stalls, milkmen clanging steel containers, stray dogs sniffing around for scraps.
The neighborhood park, a small green patch surrounded by old iron fencing, became his first track. He started with a slow jog, focusing on breathing evenly through his nose and out through his mouth. The cool air stung his lungs, but he kept going.
After the third lap, the system made its presence known.
Ding.Fitness – Level 1 – 3/100
Ajay smirked. "So it counts cardio too," he muttered under his breath.
By the tenth lap, his shirt clung to him with sweat, and his calves were burning. Another notification popped up.
Ding.Fitness – Level 1 – 5/100
Not much yet—but he knew consistency would change that.
Bodyweight Training
After the run, Ajay headed home and grabbed an old coir mat from the storeroom. On the terrace, he began a simple circuit:
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Squats
Planks
At first, the movements felt awkward. His shoulders trembled during push-ups; his stomach cramped after twenty sit-ups. But the system didn't care about comfort—it tracked every rep, rewarding proper form over speed.
Ding.Fitness – Level 1 – 7/100
By the end of the circuit, Ajay's arms shook, sweat dripped from his chin, and his breaths came in short bursts. But deep down, he felt alive.
Skipping Rope
From his old cricket gear, Ajay dug out a skipping rope. Skipping had always been a fast way to improve footwork, but he had ignored it in his first life because it "felt like a warm-up for kids."
This time, he set a timer for ten minutes and started. The rope slapped against the terrace floor in a steady rhythm. After a few minutes, his calves screamed, but he pushed through.
Ding.Fitness – Level 1 – 9/100
The Diet Shift
It wasn't enough to train. Ajay knew his diet had to change too. His family was used to heavy meals—parathas swimming in ghee, fried snacks, and endless cups of sweet chai. Delicious, but deadly for an athlete.
That morning at breakfast, Ajay filled his plate with two boiled eggs, a bowl of poha, and a glass of milk. His mother raised an eyebrow."No parathas today?"
Ajay smiled. "Not today, Ma. I'm trying something new."
She shrugged but didn't push. The family would take time to adjust, but Ajay wasn't waiting for their approval.
Evening Ground Session
By evening, Ajay was back at the ground, but instead of jumping straight into batting, he started with sprints between wickets. Bat in hand, he ran full tilt from one crease to the other, imagining the pressure of a real match chase.
Each burst of speed made the system chime in his head.Ding.Fitness – Level 1 – 12/100
After sprints, he moved into agility drills—zigzag running through cones, jumping over low hurdles, and sliding to collect balls from either side. His fielding bar ticked upward too, proof that fitness and skills could grow together.
Night Reflections
That night, Ajay sat by the window, sipping plain water instead of his usual post-dinner chai. The soreness in his muscles was worse than in the morning, but it was the right kind of pain. The kind that promised change.
He opened his system panel:
Batting – 55/100Bowling – 21/100Fielding – 6/100Fitness – 12/100
In his first life, he had chased batting numbers. Now, he would chase all four. If he could max them out, he would be unstoppable—not just a heavy hitter, but a complete player.
The journey was long, but for the first time in years, Ajay felt like he was moving in the right direction.